UFC Seattle brought fight fans plenty of MMA action! Three of the five fights on the main card went to pretty close decisions. Contrastingly, on the undercard, all seven bouts ended with a finish.
All in all a fantastic card. Unfortunately, the main event was extremely anticlimactic as the most accredited man in combat sports, Henry Cejudo, made his return to the sport at 38 years old just to suffer a technical decision defeat thanks to an eye poke from Song Yadong. In the co-main event, it was a rematch over seven years in the making as Anthony Hernandez grinded out Brendan Allen in an extremely entertaining grappling affair. Some high-ranking fighters and upcoming prospects, especially for a fight night card, on this edition of Losers.
Henry Cejudo
Henry Cejudo lost a technical decision to Song Yadong in the main event of UFC Seattle after he could not continue due to a double eye poke. Despite taking the entire five minutes of allotted injury time, Cejudo informed the ref and doctor that he could not see out of one eye triggering the end of the fight. It was a disappointing outcome for Cejudo as he has now lost three fights in a row beginning with losing his belt to Aljamain Sterling in May of 2023.
Cejudo entered the bout ranked at #7 in the UFC’s bantamweight division while his opponent was ranked at #8. While one wouldn’t say that running this one back would be the only thing that makes sense in this situation, it certainly makes the most sense. Especially hearing Song’s immediate reaction to the outcome of the fight in his post-fight octagon interview. If Song’s down for the immediate rematch, this would still be the fight to make, as the scrap was competitive up until the fouls were committed. Dana White doesn’t like it, but he’s changed his mind before.
Cejudo’s next fight: Song Yadong rematch
Brendan Allen
Brendan Allen lost a back-and-forth unanimous decision to Anthony Hernadez in a fight that saw the southern-bred fighter gain the upper hand in virtually every striking exchange. It was Allen’s second loss in a row after dropping a unanimous decision to Nassourdine Imavov in last September. Before that, Allen was riding high on a seven-fight win streak that featured five finishes. He was eyeing a title shot. Not anymore.
Allen entered the fight ranked at #9 in the UFC’s middleweight division while “Fluffy” was ranked at #12. These two first met back in January of 2018 at LFA 32 for the middleweight championship. That bout actually went eerily similar to this (except it was five rounds) as Hernandez wore down Allen on the ground, winning a decision.
Brendan should take on Roman Kopylov in his next fight. Kopylov is ranked at #14 and riding a two fight win streak including Allen’s most recent victory, Chris Curtis. Roman’s most recent loss was also opposite of “Fluffy” as well. Though Kopylov lost by submission in the second round instead of going the distance. This would be an interesting one as Allen’s striking looked good Saturday while Kopylov is known for his dynamic striking.
Allen’s next fight: Roman Kopylov
Jean Matsumoto
Jean Matsumoto suffered his first defeat in professional MMA career Saturday, when Rob Font stunned the youngster stealing a split decision nod. Matsumoto, a 2023 Contender Series alum had scored two victories with the UFC since joining the promotion a couple years ago. Matsumoto submitted Dan Argueta in his promotional debut before snagging a unaimous decision over Brad Katona last October.
Undoubtedly, this wasn’t the outcome Jean was hoping to have for a big fight at UFC Seattle. But the 25-year-old had an excellent showing on short notice (stepping up for an injured and now retired, Dominick Cruz) against the #9 ranked bantamweight, having more than a few moments in the fight. But the veteran turned it up in the final round out damaging Jean to steal the fight. A huge favor done for the promotion and a banger fight.
Matsumoto, who entered the fight unranked, is worthy of another shot of earning a ranking next to his name, especially if someone in #10-15 range is available and the timing makes sense. A fight against a guy like Jonathan Martinez could make sense. Martinez has lost his last two fights- both against ranked opposition in Jose Aldo and Marcus McGhee. Before that, he was on a six-fight winning streak featuring two finishes. Jonathan is dangerous, established in the promotion at 10-5, and has a little bit of a name. So, the winner of this bout could easily be looking at a matchup against someone in the rankings.
Matsumoto’s next fight: Jonathan Martinez
Melsik Baghdasaryan
Melsik Baghdasryan was dropped and finished by Jean Silva in the first round of their bout on the main card of UFC Seattle. The finish was brutal and Melsik had been out of action since July of 2023, tearing his labrum and having three fights cancelled in that time period.
Baghdasaryan, a 2020 season Contender Series alum, is now 3-2 with the UFC. But those two losses have come in his past three fights. Melsik is an accredited striker with pro kickboxing and boxing experience despite his rather green, 8-3 pro MMA record. A good matchup for Melsik would be another fighter who lost on Saturday, Andre Fili. Andre was submitted in the first round of his first against Melquizael Costa, and has lost three of his last five. Fili is a UFC featherweight staple with a 12-11, 1 NC with the UFC in his 12+ years tenure with the promotion. Andre’s victories in that time were a first-round finish against Lucas Almeida and most recently a split decision fight of the night against Cub Swanson last June.
Fili is always game for a scrap and more than competent standing. Couldn’t see any way that a fight between these two would not be a back-and-forth affair that has equal chances of going the distance or come to a sudden and brutal stoppage. Winner would be right in the middle of the featherweight traffic moving upwards with two or three wins away from getting a ranked fight.
Baghdasaryan’s next fight: Andre Fili
Julius Walker
Julius Walker dropped a split decision to #15 ranked light heavyweight, Alonzo Menifield, to kick off the UFC Seattle main card on Saturday. It was Walker’s debut in the UFC as the former Synergy and Peak Fighting light heavyweight champion competed on the regional scene as recently as December.
The 25-year-old light heavyweight is still extremely early on in his career at 6-1. Walker’s barnburner with Menifield earned him fight of the night honors. Fans should keep tabs on this fighter as 205lbs continues to struggle to find new, young, and exciting talent.
Walker should take on another fighter who lost last night, Ibo Aslan. Ibo lost to UFC vet Ion Cutelaba by first round submission. Aslan is 2-1 with the UFC since coming off the Contender Series in 2023. Back then, he was an 11-1 fighter that had faced just three opponents with winning records. Aslan has more than proven himself since then, stopping his first two opponents including an undefeated 11-0, Raffael Cerqueira. Aslan also had his first fight with the organization win fight of the night honors. A fight like that has the potential to be a nail bitter for fans.
Walker’s next fight: Ibo Aslan
